


Mountain Path

by RadAceFriend



Category: Yogscast
Genre: Blood, F/F, Suicide, brief description of injuries/pain, exclusion from community
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 22:53:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9145717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadAceFriend/pseuds/RadAceFriend
Summary: All Rythian had wanted was to be able to live among humans





	

The two women were walking along the cliff path again.

Rythian liked to watch them sometimes. He liked to see them laugh and smile together, their hair becoming quickly knotted by the winds that buffeted around the almost sheer cliffs that kept his home safe. He'd watched them grow up, seen their first time struggling along the path until they had reached their current level of confidence, practically leaping with the confidence of mountain goats. He'd seen the first time they'd held hands on the path and the first time they'd kissed upon reaching their destination - the small, sheltered, island-like plateau where they'd sit on and beneath blankets, eating a prepared meal as they talked for hours, watching the sun move slowly down the sky until it sank beneath the horizon, eventually falling asleep in each other's arms.

Today they had no basket for blankets or food and he knew they were walking the path for the sheer joy they derived from it. Watching them made him remember the reason he'd decided to come to this place from his home. He'd wanted to see people, to watch them grow and live and smile and be able to smile with them. He could still see his mother's face, still hear the shock in her voice when he'd spoken of his wish. He'd been going to change his body so completely that he'd fit in perfectly with the humans, give himself soft skin and eyes that couldn't quite see the night properly and arms with hands and fingers.

His mother had tried to stop him from going, tried to convince him to stay in the only home either of them had ever known. When she'd be unable to convince him to stay, she had instead stopped him from ever being able to blend in. When he'd finally managed to reach the Overworld, the body he had wanted had not formed, leaving him as he was. He hadn't fit in anywhere, no where wanted a huge, black as night, violet eyed, fire breathing _dragon_ for a friend, or even a neighbour, and after the third time being driven away by torches and swords he'd found where he lived now, a large and sheltered grassy plateau at the top of a mountain that was only climbable by a single path which only came halfway up. The only other path well hidden and so far unfound. The mountain goats had found their way to the top, living off tough grass and the spring that bubbled down the mountain as a crystal-clear stream to eventually reach the sea.

Rythian only flew at night now. He used to fly during the day, but had stopped when people from the towns had shot burning arrows at him, their heads burying themselves between his scales, coated with something besides fire that had festered in him until he'd clawed at the area that had been hit and gouged out the infected chunk of flesh. After that he'd only dared fly when the night had enough stars that his eyes could be mistaken for them and when very little moonlight glinted off his scales.

The two women had reached their plateau and were dancing to imaginary music, leading each other round and round in circles as they laughed. Rythian made a note of that on one of the sheer mountain walls, using a single claw to gently pull pieces of stone from the wall and make the words that he'd learnt from snatches of conversation over years of watching the path and listening to the people. Turning back, he watched the two women dance round and round in the afternoon light.

With that sight engrained into his mind, Rythian closed his eyes and, despite what his body urged him to do, he refused to open them again.

\-----

It had been on one of their many walks up to the mountain plateau that Zoey and Fiona discovered a second mountain path.

It was well hidden, and would probably have stayed so if there hadn't been a storm over the past few days that was worse than anyone currently alive could remember. Here, on the normally windy cliffs of the mountain, it was no wonder that the large tree that had concealed the path for decades had fallen, landing right at the bottom of the mountain and already being cut apart for firewood by the townspeople.

Upon finding the path, Zoey and Fiona did what was most natural for them, going up the path as quickly as possible, Zoey naming each animal that she saw while they chatted, Fiona's side of the conversation often punctuated by swearing for various reasons. When they reached the top it was to the wonder of a larger plateau than the one they were used to, easily half a mile in diameter, with mountain goats moving around it and eating the grass, a naturally formed huge wall of stone with writing carved into it, and a sleeping dragon.

The dragon took up the first part of their attention, with the two first trying not to wake it up, then attempting everything they could to even get the huge creature to even appear to twitch a single one of its muscles. After an hour or so of no results, while Zoey was searching for anything that could be an ear translated to a dragon's anatomy, Fiona called Zoey's attention the the wall with the writing on it.

_The eye of The Rabbit is on top of The Hammer, First Year_

_There's not much to do here, but it's better than being driven away constantly by people within towns, the last lot almost damaged my wings, and I don't know what I would have done then._

_The Hunter's shield has become The Wild Pig's pillow, First Year_

_There's a mountain path along the side of the mountain. I inspected it, but the one that leads up here has been hidden by a tree. Maybe I'll watch the people climbing and be near to humans in that way._

_The Lady's crown has been trapped in The Cage, Third Year_

_I've had to stop flying during the day in order to avoid the arrows. The last one hit me and they'd put something on it that felt like it was burning me from within. I stand out too much so I can only fly at night now, when the sky and I match._

_The Fish is in The Dog's mouth, Seventh Year_

_Two sets of parents brought their daughters up the path. They were so young and were the smallest humans I've ever seen. They smiled so much when they reached the end of the path that it made me want to smile for the first time since the humans hated me the first time._

_The Lantern is hanging from The Hammer, Fifteenth Year_

_They came up the path alone for the first time today. They were holding hands and talking to each other and when they reached the end of the path they watched the sun go down while eating dinner._

_The Lady's hand is stroking The Rabbit, Seventeenth Year_

_When they got to the end of the path they kissed and had dinner and slept under blankets while hugging each other. I'm so happy that they're happy that I'm flying for at least four hours tonight rather than only two._

_The Wild Pig is carrying The Cage, Eighteenth Year_

_They gave each other rings today and were very very happy and smiled at each other a lot._

_The Lady is carrying the Lantern, Nineteenth Year_

_My mother was right to try to stop me from coming here. I want to go home but I have no way back. I want to see them one last time, they're always so happy and they can always make me happy too._

_There are no stars right now, Nineteenth Year_

_They danced at the end of the path and they were happy. I'm going to go to sleep now and I don't ever want to wake up._

_-Rythian_

Zoey and Fiona stared up at the wall which had been the diary of the sleeping dead dragon called Rythian, not caring that they were not wiping away the tears that ran down their faces.


End file.
